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Yes, it’s coming up to that time of year again when we re-assess, think about what we had planned and didn’t fulfil in the current year and create another list of broken resolutions for the coming one. Get a gym membership, check, eat more healthily, check, learn a new language the list can go on and on…

How about creating some resolutions for your hair that you can keep? Winter is upon us and that can be a very harsh time for natural hair You’re probably wearing a protective style at the moment, a weave, a wig to keep those tresses underneath safe from the cold elements, but are you really taking care of your hair? How will it look for Spring or Summer? The same way you have to train and exercise your body it is exactly the same for your hair.

Protective styles can sometimes cause friction damage around the hairline, you may also during this time of year neglect to wash and treat it regularly due to the weather, eating that winter warming comfort food rather than choosing healthy options, so not just turning your body but also your own hair into a couch potato. Using that weave, braid extension or wig and hat like your favourite pair of sweatpants will not be the road to happy natural hair.

So what do I do you cry! Well first step is to know what you want to achieve hairwise for the New Year. Are you trying to grow it a few inches, cut off a few inches, shave it all off and start from scratch, plan on dying it or do you just want to give your hair some love? Just like exercise you are advised to consult with a doctor first before jumping on that treadmill. You should do the same with your hair. If you know a natural haircare specialist go and have a consultation, ask them for at home hair therapies that you could do yourself, especially if one of your new year resolutions was haircare on a budget.

If your hair is transitioning back to its natural texture or your hair is already fully natural or loc’d there are a few things you need to do first. Step one, check your health, are you eating right, drinking enough water? Are you under any stress, has your hair been overly processed with relaxer, overtwisted if loc’d – causing hairline and follicle damage, too tightly braided extension or weaves – if it’s too tight it ain’t right! Frizzy or split ends due to heated hair equipment, or excessive shedding.

The next step like exercise is to start gradually, try a soothing nightly head massage to stimulate blood flow to the hair follicles, use a protective oil such as coconut oil, black castor oil, and shea butter to strengthen and reduce frizz while doing this. Try to get rid of the stress in your life whether person or thing – easier said than done, I know. If you have not been eating right, start! You may also want to begin taking vitamin and or mineral supplements to help promote hair growth / re-growth. Wash and treat your hair regularly, get ends trimmed regularly, this will make hair look fuller and thicker and give even growth. If you follow these simple hair resolutions, by the time summer arrives, your hair will have been whipped into shape ready to be styled, prepped and preened for a fabulous new look.

As parents and mothers one of the things we strive to do is to encourage confidence and self-love into our children, especially our daughters.

Growing daughters up to love themselves from their head to their feet with or without blemishes, birthmarks, freckles, long hair or short and whatever shade on the colour spectrum, allowing our daughters to blossom and see the real them is a serious task. But we must also teach them to love and respect others without judging, by looking at the inner beauty rather than the outer shell.

So you’re fussing with your hair before rushing to work, are you worried your natural hair is not corporate enough while your daughter looks on, seeing and hearing your doubt? Another common scenario is the scolding of an older matriarch while combing your hair as a child of hair ‘too tough, or too coarse’ – the good hair, bad hair syndrome. Are we passing on this same trait to our daughters?

Do you remember when your daughter was at the toddler age and you added rainbow coloured clips
to intricately braided cornrows while she slept? Or that feeling of artistic contentment when you found the perfect ribbons to put in her two little afro puffs to match that cute outfit? But that feeling starts to pass as the transition of tween to teen approaches. We run out of patience to do all those styles and our daughters who are now coming into their own and being influenced by pop culture now want to flip their hair like their pop idols Little Mix
and Fifth Harmony
. Nothing is wrong with that. We’ve all had a hairbrush
mike and towel half-wrapped flipping and whipping around our heads moment singing in front of the mirror
. But are our daughters self-assured young girls who can admire the girl groups and yet confidently appreciate and wear a flat twist when going to school and a cute funky frohawk when going out with friends.

We can encourage our daughters to wear natural styles by first being confident ourselves when wearing natural hairstyles. Be experimental with how you do your hair, no matter the texture, loose or tight curls our natural hair is so very versatile and very much admired. Yes, wear it loud and proud! When trawling through the internet looking at the entertainment pages show your daughter the latest natural hair trends on the famous and not so famous entertainers – Beyonce
rocking an afro, Solange wearing a twist-out or maybe Etana showing a sophisticated natural updo. Help your daughter do easy natural hairstyles and if you’re not the creative type get a hairdresser friend, yes we all have that one hairdresser friend to help you out at a natural hair slumber party. This will make it fun rather than a chore and what could make it even more fun could be the diversity and ethnicity of her friends. They too can take part and appreciate the beauty and versatility of natural hair and the many styles that can be created. YouTube tutorials are another fantastic aid. So go on, go practice some natural hairstyles on each other.

It's that time of year again, when fancy work do's, Christmas parties, client appreciation cocktail events, award ceremonies plus the obligatory family and friends get-togethers come around. You planned everything this time, you have everything in place to look your finest, the little black dress, the red bottom shoes, the new makeup palette. Yes, you can get your Cinderella on! But you've forgotten one thing, your halo of gorgeous naturally curly hair. What are you going to do with it? How are you going to style it to make it look extra special?

Well, if you normally wear your natural hair slicked back in a bun, and you want to have all eyes on you when you make an entrance, how about adding a temporary pop of colour with hair chalk and some flexi rods to give your natural hair wonderful bouncy highlighted and defined curls. (If your hair is on the shorter side use perm rods instead). Take a look at Naptural85 tutorial as an easy-to-do guide on YouTube.

I would advise you though to wear gloves when adding the hair chalk as you may not want to mess up your manicure, use old towels or clothes. This style can be done the evening or night before the event if you intend not to use any heat on your natural hair.

Another natural hairstyle that would be perfect for the party season is a Teyonah Parris inspired red carpet updo look. TheChicNatural has just the right tutorial for this.

Those with longer hair and a dab hand with bobby pins could try a more complex version of this 6 section bunhawk natural updo.

For shorter hair naturalistas you have not been forgotten. Although it may seem that there are not as many up or down styles that can be achieved you can still add a wow factor when attending the upcoming seasonal events. Adding a temporary colour, a few small diamante clips, flowers or bands, changing the curl size if you can, plus adding extra shine will make you and your natural hair stand out. But remember, as less of your face will be framed by your natural hair make sure your eyebrows and edges are right and your makeup is tight. If you do wear accessories a great pair of dangling earrings whether clipped or pierced will help the look to pop. Here are some fun short and sassy natural hairstyles for you to try out for the party look by Kouki.

When doing any of these 3 types of natural hairstyles it's important to have all your styling products, brushes, pins, bands and clips to hand. Use products you are used to and that are agreeable with your skin and hair, we don’t want any last minute allergic reactions. Make sure you are comfortable with creating any one of these styles, and although they are easy and pretty quick to do with outstanding results you may want to try a practice run before stepping out for the big occasion.

Natural hair ladies, you too are ready for the ball and as quoted by the once famous Bill and Ted most excellent adventures – Party On Dudes!

The importance of a proper diet can never be over stated. The benefits of eating correctly extend also to your skin and hair. The saying goes: what you put is what you get out. A lot of the process to getting healthy hair begins on the inside of our bodies and is manifested in healthy looking hair. Our scalp has to be taken into consideration, because it is where healthy hair comes from. Let’s take a further look at what proper dieting and eating the right kind of food can do for your hair. Many naturals want softer and shinier hair, but what are some of the foods that ladies can add to their hair regimen?

Nuts

Walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, almonds and cashews are filled with selenium, alpha-linoleic acids and omega 3 fatty acid which are great for your scalp and help to soften your hair. Though these can be used for intake, some of these also produce oils that can be added directly to the shaft of your hair.

Dark Green Vegetables

These aren’t the most favoured kinds of food, but if we want to begin to see result in the health of our hair, dark green vegetables are an important addition. Broccoli, spinach are two kinds of green vegetables that produce vitamin A and B which are important to produce sebum. Sebum is an oily substance that our hair follicles produce; this is what helps to maintain the scalp’s moisture.

Fish

Fatty- fish, to be more specific is great for your hair, it produces omega-3 fatty acids, which is great for the hair shaft. Salmon, mackerel, anchovies and sardines are great fatty-fish that make can make your hair strands very shiny.

Oats

Our hair may not be soft because it has been dried out and become brittle because of different situations. Oats is filled with biotin, potassium, magnesium and zinc, these can help restore the breakage caused by your brittle hair, and thus allowing your mane to become softer. Oats is so versatile; you can do so much with it for breakfast or lunch.

Eggs

Eggs are also a good way to get healthy hair. One key ingredient that eggs have is sulfur. Sulfur is great, as it produces keratin and collagen which is essential for shiny hair strands. Let’s stock up on those eggs, however you like them.

It is very important to know what is good for your hair. We can spend so much time dabbing products on to our hair and it makes no overall improvement in the health of our hair, because we have been ignoring what we actually put into our bodies. Diet is an integral part of natural hair regimen, and these additions to your regimen should have you seeing results in a matter of months. It is essential to appreciate that what goes into your body is what you’ll get out. Add these foods to your regimen and see if your hair becomes softer and shinier.

About Us

We are AfroDeity

AfroDeity was started by a scientist, entrepreneur, mum and proud geek. This blog started a record of her hair journey and a resource to help others find out more about themselves and their natural hair. Over the years it has transformed into a resource for hair, skin, fitness and healthy eating. Read on whether you are relaxed or natural, from the UK, Europe or further.

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